Host Commissioner

Placements in Somerset

At NHS Somerset our role as Host Commissioner is to:

• Maintain quality surveillance of our local independent hospital.
• Be the point of contact for all placing ICBs in relation to quality assurance queries.
• Collate intelligence and triangulate information to address any quality or safety issues.
• Share and request intelligence across commissioners placing people in our area.

The role of ICBs placing in Somerset is to:

• Inform host commissioners before you decide to place a person into our area.
• Talk to us about any quality or governance concerns you identify which are not addressed or managed appropriately and in a timely way by the hospital.
• Work with us by attending regular collaborative assurance meetings. The purpose of these is to share information across all system stakeholders and work together to support independent hospitals to maintain a high and consistent quality of service delivery, mitigate risk, resolve concerns, and highlight good practice.

Please talk to us when you are considering placing a person with a diagnosis of a Learning Disability and / or Autistic people in Somerset.

Once you have placed a person in Somerset:

If you have already placed a patient within Somerset please contact us so we can invite you to our Host Commissioner’s meetings which are held on a regular basis and  which enable us to triangulate information.  We encourage all placing commissioners to discuss themes of concern as well as to share positive experiences of the subject hospital.  Please note – individual issues should be raised by you with the hospital manager immediately.

It is important that ICBs placing in Somerset talk to us about any quality or governance concerns they may identify.  This will help us cross-reference information and address any identified concerns as Host Commissioner.  You can tell us about a concern by contacting us at somicb.hostcommissioning@nhs.net.  Please mark it for the attention of the MH/LD Commissioning and Quality Teams.

Quality Assurance in Somerset

NHS Somerset’s quality oversight for independent hospitals in our area includes:

• Ongoing and supportive contact to seek assurance about the quality of care delivered.
• Scheduled quality visits at least twice a year and regular meetings with the Hospital Manager.
• Collating intelligence provided by various stakeholders, such as placing commissioners, CQC, Safeguarding colleagues and Cygnet.
• Establishing a formal and collaborative assurance process across placing ICBs and other stakeholders where concerns have been identified or to enable the sharing of good practice and learning.

Please talk to us when you are considering placing a person with a diagnosis of a Learning Disability and / or Autistic people in Somerset.

If you intend to place a person in Somerset, we invite you to contact us in advance at somicb.hostcommissioning@nhs.net and we will be able to advise you of any current safety or quality concerns.  Please do not include person identifiable information in your emails, and as Host ICB we will never ask for identifiable information about people you place in our area.  Please mark your email for the attention of the MH/LD Commissioning and Quality Teams.

Working together with the LGA, South West ADASS, NHSE, health and social care commissioners, and co-produced with parent carers and people with lived experience, we have developed a set of tools to support improvements to the out of area placement process for when people move around the South West.  The tools are for commissioners, frontline practitioners, community support providers, parent carers and people with lived experience of a learning disability and are intended to offer best practice guidance when supporting someone that has been placed by a commissioner that is not from the host authority area.

NHSE Out of Area Placement Toolkit

The toolkit covers placements made in Registered Care (Residential) Homes, Supported Housing (Supported Independent Living), Community Support/ Domiciliary Care, and Residential Colleges.

-  Moving away from home commissioner                           -  OoA Commissioner Guidance (overview)

-  OoA Checklist for Providers                                               -  OoA Provider Guidance (overview)

-  OoA LA ICB Checklist                                                         -  OoA Families Checklist

Out of area placements do require an enhanced level of planning and co-ordination because the individual is being placed away, sometimes a considerable distance from their family/carers, the local authority or ICB with the statutory responsibility and knowledge of the individual being placed.

There is a duty of care to ensure a wider range of factors are considered and acted upon to support the safe transfer to a new placement, and importantly ensure ongoing oversight and quality assurance by the placing authority.

It is important that both the host and placing authorities are mindful of the duties of each other and the need to co-operate in certain circumstances for the benefit of those with care and support needs.

Reporting Safeguarding Concerns

We work very closely with our Local Authority Safeguarding Team to share intelligence about any allegations of abuse or neglect. Should you have any safeguarding concerns or wish to make a safeguarding referral it will be your responsibility as placing ICB to contact the Somerset Council Safeguarding Team. The Somerset Safeguarding Team will also contact you direct should a local safeguarding concern be raised that involves the person you have placed in Somerset.

For any safeguarding concerns about an independent hospital in Somerset please contact

Somerset Adult Social Care Safeguarding Adults Team

Telephone:  Somerset Direct 0300 123 2224 / Email:  adults@somerset.gov.uk

To report an adult safeguarding concern in Somerset you can access the ‘Professionals Safeguarding Referral’ form on the Somerset Safeguarding Adult website (somersetsafeguardingadults.org.uk - see Key Links at the bottom of the home page).